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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30023982">Lo-Fi Heart Beats</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/alchemical_acrobat/pseuds/alchemical_acrobat'>alchemical_acrobat</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paint_splatt/pseuds/Paint_splatt'>Paint_splatt</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff, M/M, YouTube, Youtuber AU, entirely self indulgent</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 23:06:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,285</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30023982</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/alchemical_acrobat/pseuds/alchemical_acrobat, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paint_splatt/pseuds/Paint_splatt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico is an up-and-coming Twitch streamer. Will is a popular YouTuber. Shenanigans ensue.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nico di Angelo &amp; Will Solace, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>65</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>245</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Lo-Fi Heart Beats</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was a collab with alchemical-acrobat! We had so much fun with this, please enjoy this self-indulgent piece</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The stream vod was still playing on his laptop when Nico snorted himself awake on his couch. With the lights off in his apartment, his laptop screen might as well be the freaking sun. And if you asked Nico, even ‘dark theme’ wasn’t dark <em> enough. </em> He moaned loudly into his couch before begrudgingly he sat up and stretched. He frowned at the loud <em> pop </em>in his spine.</p><p>His phone found its way into his hand and he swiped up the screen without looking at it. Instead, he reached over and tapped up the volume on his laptop to hear the vod. As much as he liked tabletop game streams, they put him right to sleep, even knowing some of the players. Still, he cracked a smile as the first thing he heard was a heartfelt plea from Percy at the dungeon master, his loving girlfriend, to please not punish him for rolling a two. Nico laughed drily with a fond eye roll, dragging his finger over the mousepad and closing the stream tab. It was just as the window closed that he spotted the time in the bottom right hand corner of his screen, and his heart <em> stopped. </em></p><p><em> “Shit.” </em> Nico darted his eyes to his phone screen, panicking to find his abandoned alarm set to silent. And as if surprised that the times were the <em> same </em> — <em> weird </em> —he leapt to his feet and sprinted to his bedroom. Practically falling into his padded desk chair, he hardly felt comforted by the cool pleather material woven with threads of black and gray. Dashing his thumb over his phone screen, he cursed loudly and fumbled to write a new tweet. Dammit, his hands were shaking so bad for just waking up. “Shit, shit, <em> fuck me-” </em></p><p>He hardly had time to read over his tweet, typos be damned, before posting and dropping his phone loudly on his desk. Breathing out a sigh, he furiously gripped his mouse, clicking frantically. "Come on…" The loud PC by his feet whirred to life and the lights of his keyboard flashed purple as power flowed through his monitor set-up. Throwing on his headset and leaving the mic pushed away from him, he muttered quietly to himself about setting alarms and not trusting his own damn sleep schedule when he had a <em> stream </em>schedule. Within moments, he was opening OBS and Twitch, popping out the chat, hitting “start streaming,” and booting up Mythomagic all in quick succession like he’d done it a million times.</p><p>Nico inhaled, and in a beat, he watched the chat start filling up on his screen.</p><p>“Hey everyone,” he greeted, clearing his throat lightly before pushing his mic back close to his mouth. “H-hey. Alright, let’s get started here in just a minute. Can everyone hear me, are the levels okay?” Even Nico was surprised at how level his voice sounded. He was only ten minutes late to going live. Taking a second to actually look back at his tweet, he already saw the notification from Percy replying.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Streams Every Tuesday @GhostKing</p><p>Going live in a few, playing some Mythomagic, maybe the new Zelda demo later. Come hang out.</p><p>twitch.tv/ghostking</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>PercyJackson @SeaweedBrain</p><p>I’m gonna join the lobby so we’ll be sure to win. Real quick how do you download mytho magic</p><p>Nico quirked an eyebrow but begrudgingly hit like before putting his phone down and returning his attention back to the game on his stream. “Okay I am… yeah, good to go. Hey chat,” he said pleasantly. Well, pleasantly for Nico. It sounded fairly dry to his ears like most of what he said, but he’d been told that for not showing his face, his voice was nice to listen to on streams. Sometimes let’s-players were so <em> bombastic </em>that it got kind of exhausting.</p><p>“Let’s jump into a lobby,” he murmured, and as soon as the main theme started playing through his headphones, he felt right at home.</p><p>His first couple games went by smoothly, no one quite sweating yet which Nico was fine with. He interacted with the chat when he could shift focus, occasionally answering their questions. Most were innocent, some were suggestions of people he should play with. “Ha, yeah Jason doesn’t really play video games, neither does Wise-Girl.” … “I mean, go look at Percy’s tweet.” … “Apollo-holla? I don’t, uhm, know...”</p><p>Nico’s attention was pulled back to the game as he jabbed at his keyboard because someone on the enemy team was targeting him hard. That’s what he got for playing a random dps character. His main had been taken though. Irritably, he shot a look at the player on his team that at least <em> looked </em>like they were AFK and was doing nothing to help him. He was pretty sure it was the same player he’d seen a few times now. Seen them do anything? Not really.</p><p>“C’mon, please come heal,” he grumbled, before adding, “We’re going into a new lobby after this.” He sighed in frustration as <em> ‘Defeat’ </em> flashed across the screen. Slumping in his chair, he looked back at the chat to find it <em> soaring. </em>The scowl etched deeper into his features.</p><p>At the mention of that last youtuber, he guessed, chat was going <em> nuts. </em></p><p><strong>skeletal_pegasus</strong>: You’ve definitely seen his videos he’s constantly trending</p><p><strong>mythosthegame</strong>: Hey nico did you see the mythomagic card game they’re making</p><p><strong>silenabb</strong>: Oh that vlogger with the insane blue eyes</p><p><strong>mrs_oleary</strong>: Hi nico</p><p><strong>silenabb</strong>: Isn’t he in med school rn??</p><p><strong>radgameplays</strong>: He posted on his story that he’s playing mythomagic tonight!!</p><p><strong>fenrisfan98</strong>: says he’s live right now</p><p><strong>underworlder</strong>: wait did he reply to you on twitter?????</p><p>At that, Nico felt taken aback. Quickly, he hit ‘cancel’ on Mythomagic so he wouldn’t get queued in another game and opened twitter, not bothering with hiding the window on stream. “I didn’t know that was his name but no, yeah, I’ve definitely watched his videos in my recommended.” Nico snapped his fingers as he recalled the memory, “I think I watched that one where he tried archery? And, uhm, maybe the Bob Ross painting challenge. I don’t remember. He doesn’t usually do games though. And we’ve never interacted or anything. Why…?”</p><p>As he scrolled, it didn’t take long to find something from @Apollo-holla because it was quickly surpassing even Percy’s reply in likes. Nico felt his heart pound (as it usually did when he interacted with new people on his socials) and he chewed on his thumb nail as he read.</p><p>Will Solace @Apollo-holla</p><p>
  <em>Hi GhostKing! I’ve never played Mythomagic before, would you be down to carry a newbie for a few rounds? I can play healer!</em>
</p><p>“Oh,” Nico breathed, shifting in his chair. Not a moment after he had the tweet pulled up on his screen, he glanced at chat and saw it racing by. Not only that, but the views on his stream had shot up by at least a hundred in the last minute.</p><p><strong>dragons_aged</strong>: OMG WILL</p><p><strong>dragons_aged</strong>: GET HIM IN THE LOBBY PLSS</p><p><strong>l0rd_thanat0s</strong>: Yooo is this mythomagic</p><p><strong>stollmyusername</strong>: if only this were a squad stream</p><p><strong>silenabb</strong>: YESSS APOLLO-HOLLA PLAYS MYTHOMAGIC WITH GHOSTKING CHALLENGE</p><p><strong>mrs_oleary</strong>: Hi nico</p><p>Nico shook his head and blinked in confusion. In the back of his mind he realized that Will probably followed Percy? And maybe that’s how he saw his tweet? Which brought his attention to the new follower notification.</p><p>This was weird. Nico had the thought that of <em> course </em> his most viewed stream is the one he’s also half asleep for. The familiar names of his chat swung by in excitement, followed and overwhelmed by several new ones as well. Still, he peered at chat for a minute before sighing. “I guess I can DM him. I’m always down to get new players into Mythomagic.”</p><p>And chat <em> lost it. </em></p><p>Smiling somewhat nervously and raising an eyebrow, Nico grabbed his phone so his audience wouldn’t be privy to the conversation, and pulled up his Twitter to message this guy. He anxiously ran a hand through his mess of hair, cringing slightly where he could feel it standing on end. It really was a good thing he didn’t have a face cam sometimes. “Okay chat, give me a few minutes to figure this out.” There was an endearing spree of excited all caps messages and emotes.</p><p>He opened a DM to @Apollo-holla and typed.</p><p>“Hey. You wanted to jump in a mythomagic lobby?”</p><p>As Nico waited for a response (he’d give him five minutes), he peered at the profile picture of Will Solace. It looked like a drawing someone had done of him. In his bio, he’d tagged the artist and Nico hummed in appreciation at the handle, @RachelDareDraw. He glanced at an art print on his wall that he’d bought from her at a con last year. After a moment he swiped back to his messages. He was surprised at how quickly the typing animation appeared on his screen, and a reply blinked into existence.</p><p>“Yeah, if you don’t mind! I’m streaming and the highlights are going up on my channel. Felt like it’d be fun to watch me be bad at video games. Only if you want to, though, I don’t wanna derail your stream lol.”</p><p>Nico snorted and muttered, “We’re well past that.” Still, there was that anxious feeling gnawing at his stomach. A new person could be a gamble, but Will seemed well-liked, and Nico didn’t even have a huge following. It wasn’t like he did streams with other people very often. This would probably be- Yeah, it would be fine.</p><p>Within minutes, they’d exchanged discords, and Nico thumbed anxiously at his mouse wheel waiting for Will to hop on a call.</p><p>“Ghost King? Hey, can you hear me?”</p><p>Nico’s tongue seized up in his mouth—he’d forgotten that Will had a pretty nice voice—but he spluttered nervously. “Hey. Yeah I can hear you. And you can call me Nico.”</p><p>“Sweet! I’m Will. Sorry, I’m just making one of those community posts on Youtube real quick. Should I start a group or do you want to?”</p><p>“I-” Nico paused. “Do you know <em> how </em> to make a group?” He heard a laugh on the other end, and his cheeks flushed slightly at the pleasant ring of it.</p><p>“You caught me. I don’t even know if I’m on the right menu. The last video game I played was Neopets.”</p><p>“Tsk,” Nico clicked his tongue in amusement, “I feel like that gives me a sense of how this is going to go. I’ll send you an invite.” As he waited for Will to get situated, he looked at Twitch and breathed out a shaky sigh at how many viewers he had now. He was suddenly very grateful for the mods he’d appointed in the chat. After a couple minutes, Will had joined a group with him in the game.</p><p><em> Oh no. </em> Nico recognized the gamertag, which was <em> not </em> Apollo-holla, but clearly a random one like Will had <em> just </em> made an account. He almost laughed, realizing it was that same person who’d been so flummoxed during the last couple matches. Nico tried for a casual tone as he asked, “Oh, man, <em> you </em> were manticore123?” Will coughed lightly on the other end of the call, and when he spoke Nico thought <em> he </em>sounded embarrassed.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah… I felt a little better about it when people told me you actually <em> stream </em> this game. And apollo-holla was already taken! Can you believe that? But hey, I got my butt kicked by a pro mythomagic player, that’s gotta count for something.” Nico laughed out loud.</p><p>“I don’t know about pro but if it saves your ego, sure. Sounds like good content.”</p><p>“Let me have this!” Will whined, clearly laughing too.</p><p>Nico felt his lips curling in amusement before saying, “Alright well, let’s get started.”</p><p>~</p><p>So Will was actually far <em> worse </em>than Nico thought possible. Even for a new player, Nico had thought he could pick up the controls fairly easily. Will promised that he had deft hands, which in a sense was true, but he mostly used his skills for running exclusively into walls. Nico tried to help him with his character loadout, too, but unfortunately Will clearly prioritized the look of his gear over his stats.</p><p>“You have no defense bonus with that gear.”</p><p>“Wait, that sounds important.”</p><p>“Yeah, you’re the healer.”</p><p>“But Nico it <em> looks </em>cool.”</p><p>“You know what doesn’t look cool?”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Dying.”</p><p>“Alright, well-”</p><p>There was something endearing about watching him fumble through matches like a newborn deer, but Nico was <em> tired, </em> in the best way possible he guessed, by the time he was ending the stream. They walked away with eleven losses and one win since he’d started playing with Will. The win came about because they very luckily ended up on a team with three diamond tier players (which included the ghost king himself.) Still, the genuine joy in Will’s voice at that victory was enough to convince even Nico to try <em> one </em>more match.</p><p>After a few hours of crippling loss, with Nico grieving over his kill/death ratio going down, they called it a night.</p><p>“Nico, do you want to plug anything real quick?” Will asked as they were signing off, which caught him off guard.</p><p>“Uhm- I- Yeah, sure. Hi Youtube. You can follow me on Twitter @GhostKing, and come watch me play video games at twitch.tv/ghostking. It’s a fun time.” <em> It’s a fun time? Who says that? </em></p><p>“A <em> super </em>fun time! I had fun, anyway. Yeah if you guys like seeing someone who’s actually good at Mythomagic, check out Nico’s channel!” There were additional sign-offs from Will—like, comment, subscribe—before eventually they left the discord call, and the stream ended.</p><p>With some quiet, finally, Nico could relax and start the vod upload onto his Youtube channel, because this time he actually remembered.<em> Apparently </em> the ads on Twitch for vods didn’t actually benefit him, so that was more incentive. Another weekly stream done, he thought to himself. Kind of different from usual, but good, overall. Absentmindedly he wondered if he’d <em> ever </em> get those numbers on his channel again. He wouldn’t be surprised if this was an outlier, <em> and </em>he would have to do a lot of recovery matches to get his ranking back up. Even so, playing with someone had been fun. Will seemed cool and genuinely nice for being someone famous on the internet. It had been intimidating at first but then Will was just so, genuinely nice. As Nico sat curled up in his desk chair with the arm digging somewhat painfully into his back, he pulled open Will’s Twitter and hit ‘Follow’.</p><p>~<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>A couple days later, Nico was eating instant ramen on his couch when he opened his subscriptions on Youtube and nearly dropped his noodles. An Apollo-holla video was #2 on Trending for Gaming, and Nico froze as soon as he saw the thumbnail and title; “Running into GhostKing on Mythomagic. We play TOGETHER?” With his eyebrows scrunched together, Nico hesitantly opened the video. Intro music played, a pleasant sounding ukulele strum, and there was a fade to the next screen. Will’s facecam appeared in the corner and the Mythomagic title screen was up. Nico squinted at the tiny image of Will. He’d seen him in videos before, but it was so different seeing him in this set-up for games. He didn’t have a particularly nice headset or anything, but he had earbuds mostly hidden by curls of golden blonde hair, and a fancy mic that looked like one used for voice overs. Unbidden, the message in chat about Will’s “insane blue eyes'' jumped to the forefront of Nico’s brain.</p><p>“Hell-<em> oh </em>everyone! This isn’t my usual kind of video but people keep tweeting at me that there’s an Apollo character in this game, so you know I’ve gotta jump on that.” Nico rolled his eyes but felt the corners of his mouth quirking up slightly as he watched. Will had started recording his matches before they joined up, apparently. Initially they hadn’t even been queued together and for the first five minutes there were cuts of Will customizing his characters and loadout. Nico had to shield his eyes from secondhand embarrassment as Will bought into one of the microtransactions for loot boxes.</p><p>“No no, Will you can get loot boxes when you level up and you’re so new it’ll be really quick- and, he bought twenty. O-kay,” Nico rambled aloud to himself as he watched, his voice ragged. He laughed with some sympathy at Will’s obvious ignorance to the game, and proceeded to lose his mind at the amount of ‘common’ items he was getting from the loot boxes he just spent his <em> real </em>money on. With that money wasted, he got into a few games. The first one was a fast win, which obviously had Will feeling cocky (even though it was definitely because half of the enemy team left the match early.) It was quickly after that that they apparently got put together in a lobby.</p><p>“Guys this is going super well! Oh, hello GhostKing! Wait, how do I do an emote? I want to say hello. Oh, ow,<em> ow </em> okay. Chat, how do I heal? Can I heal myself?” Nico bit his hand to keep from laughing out loud. By the fifth time he’d apparently killed Will, he was rubbing his hands down the sides of his face. “Whelp we lost. Guys I don’t think GhostKing likes me very much… Oh hey we’re on the same team now! That’s great. Watching, I’ll win them over with my charm and gameplay skills.” In the game, Will ran his character up to Nico’s and he spammed crouch, to which Nico put his head in his hands.</p><p>“Will, that’s not what you think it means…”</p><p>It was a few more minutes before Will finally looked back at his chat, noticing very quickly that some of his viewers knew about Nico’s channel, which struck him as a weird audience overlap. “Oh dang! He tweeted something? I wonder if he’d party up with me.” At the next jumpcut, they were already in a call and Nico cringed at hearing his own monotone voice. . His face felt hot as the conversation he’d had that night played over again. Being online was so weird sometimes.</p><p>“So you’ve played in tournaments and stuff?”</p><p>“I used to do local ones, yeah. Not so much anymore though.” He watched as Will’s brow scrunched, the freckles on his face drawing together across his nose.</p><p>“How come? I’m sure you won all the time,” Will said with a slight smile. There was a pause and Nico experienced the same thought he’d had in the moment; <em> I couldn’t get a solid team together and it stopped being fun. </em></p><p>“I prefer streaming it to my audience,” was what he actually said, which was also true. Will nodded thoughtfully, not a trace of sarcasm in his expression, Nico noted. “Anyway, let’s see if we can get you a win.”</p><p>“Oh Nico, I <em> know </em>we can get a win.”</p><p>Then played the montage of every time ‘<em> Defeat </em>’ flashed across his screen, all cut to the timing of definitely royalty-free music.</p><p>Nico watched the rest of the video, and found himself laughing more than he would’ve thought. Will had a natural charisma, and in the chat there were people complimenting Nico’s playstyle, which was flattering. He snorted at his awkward self-promotion, smiling just slightly at seeing links to his socials in the video description, which was definitely not something Will needed to do. Sighing contentedly as the end-card popped up on the video, Nico grabbed his laptop to open up discord. As it loaded, he even dared to scroll down and glance over the comments.</p><p><strong>lacey839</strong>: THE CROSSOVER WE DIDN’T KNOW WE NEEDED</p><p><strong>3dgelord_ar3s</strong>: LMAO GhostKing crushed you in that first match</p><p><strong>divine-disguise</strong>: You guys have such a good chemistry</p><p><strong>untitled_loose_goose</strong>: I CAN’T BELIEVE I MISSED THIS STREAM ;O;</p><p>Clicking over to discord, he wasn’t surprised to see that Piper had already posted the video link in their friends server. Nico scoffed at her tagging @everyone and yelling that “NICO WAS IN AN APOLLO-HOLLA VIDEO??” Several of their friends, including Percy and Annabeth were freaking out about it, but Nico simply sent a ghost emoji and clicked over to his DM with Will. Chewing on his bottom lip, he typed a quick message.</p><p><strong>Nico (ghostking)</strong>: Hey, saw the video go up. Thanks for tagging me and stuff.</p><p>He guessed Will was online even though his status was ‘Do Not Disturb’ when a new message quickly appeared.</p><p><strong>Will</strong>: Absolutely! It was so fun, thank you for sticking it out with me.</p><p>Would you wanna play some tonight?</p><p>Nico frowned slightly at that. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to. Pursing his lips and scratching at his head, he quickly typed out a reply, deleted it, and then wrote again.</p><p><strong>Nico (ghostking)</strong>: I’m actually not streaming tonight</p><p><strong>Will</strong>: Oh I know, not for like a video or anything. Just to hang out and stuff</p><p>Nico stared at the message for longer than he probably should have, because Will quickly sent a stream of hasty follow-up messages.</p><p><strong>Will</strong>: Only if you want to/aren’t busy though</p><p><strong>Will</strong>: If you have stuff to do I totally understand</p><p><strong>Will</strong>: I just kinda want to get better at playing it, it was super fun</p><p><strong>Will</strong>: You were really god btw</p><p><strong>Will</strong>: *goOd</p><p><strong>Nico (ghostking)</strong>: That would be cool. Wanna play around 8?</p><p><strong>Will</strong>: Sounds good ^-^</p><p>~<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>They started playing a lot together after that. Nico was surprised to see that even though his numbers dropped since that first stream with Will, they hadn’t gone down to what they were before either. But that didn’t cross his mind so much. The fun of it wasn’t in the following he was steadily getting by occasionally streaming matches with Will. When they got on calls together to play, they mostly chatted and got to know each other.</p><p>As they talked, Nico learned more about Will going to med school, how he liked to bake bread on the weekends and it always smelled really nice while he was studying. He learned they both had their own jazz playlists on Spotify, so they traded links. Nico told Will about his half-sister, Hazel, and her studio work.</p><p>One night, they didn’t even open Mythomagic. Nico had discord up on his computer while he was cooking dinner because he miraculously had the energy to cook one of the three dishes he knew how to make. They were trading stories about how they knew Percy, Will having known him since high school, weirdly. Pretty soon they figured out how close they actually lived.</p><p>“Holy shit!” Nico coughed a laugh at the curse. You wouldn’t guess it about Mr. Never-Gets-Demonetized but Will cursed as much as Nico, which only took him a little “You’re only an hour away from me, that’s crazy! We should meet up and do a collab or something,” Will offered. Nico paused as he was cutting a carrot for his fried rice.</p><p>“It’d be awesome to meet up. I don’t actually, uhm-” How could he word this? “I’ve never really shown my face online though…”</p><p>“Oh right,” Will’s voice emanated from his laptop speakers. It sounded like he was deep in thought. “I forgot you don’t have face cam on stream. Come to think of it, we never do video calls either. What are you <em> hiding, </em>di Angelo?” he teased. Nico shook his head because, currently, that would be the blush creeping up his cheeks. “Is it like a privacy thing or…?”</p><p>“I guess I just didn’t really care,” he shrugged. “I also don’t have an actual webcam.”</p><p>“What about those card opening videos you’ve done?”</p><p>“I-” <em> Had Will watched those? </em>“I used my phone to record those.”</p><p>“Well I think I’ve got an old webcam that was pretty good if you want it. Ooh! What if you did a face reveal!” Nico tsked.</p><p>“Who says there’s a face <em> to </em>reveal? I’m a ghost, remember?”</p><p>Will laughed. “How could I forget, your majesty. But seriously… How many subscribers.”</p><p>Nico scowled as he went back to chopping. “What?”</p><p><em> "How many subscribers </em>for you to do a face reveal?”</p><p>Nico didn’t even flinch. “One million.”</p><p>“...Done.”</p><p>He scoffed as he threw his carrots into a pan where they sizzled and steamed. “It won’t happen. I’m only at 250k right now and I don’t even remember to upload that often.”</p><p>“Don’t worry. Keep doing what you’re doing. One million subscribers, just you wait.”</p><p>“Not gonna happen, Solace.”</p><p>~<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Nico watched in vague horror and with some semblance of a new respect for Will Solace as the numbers climbed on his Youtube analytics. It took about a month and a half, even with Nico quietly keeping to his once-a-week stream schedule. Between the promos from Will, Percy and even <em> Jason </em>on Twitter with the promise of a face reveal, as well as Piper posting on her instagram story about Nico’s Twitch channel, things escalated quickly. He sat on his couch one night staring at his screen as the number of subscribers hit one million, and even climbed past it by a few more just for good measure. Nico raked his fingers over his face in disbelief. “Holy crap, Will,” he sighed into his hands, before laughing quietly to himself.</p><p>Over the course of the next week, Will helped Nico figure out streaming on Youtube instead of Twitch, and they joked together about how he should do it.</p><p><strong>Nico</strong>: I have this really dumb grim reaper mask from Halloween a couple years ago.</p><p><strong>Will</strong>: YES THAT WOULD BE SO<em> GOOD. </em></p><p><strong>Will</strong>: for real though this is so exciting</p><p><strong>Nico</strong>: it’ll be cool. can’t believe you actually got me to one million</p><p><strong>Will</strong>: hey you got you to one million!</p><p>Nico had smiled at that. On the night that he’d said he was doing his face reveal, he got the stream plug-ins for Youtube ready and made sure his set up was good to go. Will had sent him a webcam in the mail, and Nico felt slightly suspicious of how old it really was, but he rigged it to his PC nonetheless. He made sure the lighting of his room was okay, content with the dim atmosphere from his curtains blocking the sun and the soft purple glow from his gaming computer and keyboard. It also forced him to actually organize his streaming space, and Nico usually needed a good excuse to clean his apartment. The final piece of the puzzle was in fact his skeleton mask from when he was like, twelve, that he kept for some reason. There was an awkward slit in the teeth, and it showed just the barest hint of Nico’s mouth when he actually talked and moved. It was perfect. People were already buzzing in chat. With the anticipation built up, even Nico was starting to feel butterflies in his stomach.</p><p>With a continued sense of, <em> holy shit how did this happen, </em>he pulled the mask over his head and hit the button to begin streaming. Then he hopped in the server voice chat on discord. His friends, including Will who was recently added, were all yelling in greeting. Part of the plan for this stream was all of them actually downloading Mythomagic so they could all play together, even though half of them had never touched a video game in their lives. (And Leo had a Jackbox party pack for back-up.)</p><p>“Hey everyone,” Nico said casually. And the stream chat lit up.</p><p><strong>underworlder</strong>: I’ve been waiting for this for weeks</p><p><strong>silenabb</strong>: ITS LIVEEEE</p><p><strong>melisuuuh</strong>: FACE REVEAL TIME</p><p><strong>mrs_oleary</strong>: Hi nico</p><p><strong>untoasted_toast</strong>: ITS A MASK LMAOOO</p><p><strong>lets_g0000</strong>: Yup that’s his face</p><p>Nico smirked, knowing at least that much was visible. He and Will had talked about this. “Okay, let’s finish the boring part already and play some Mythomagic.” Chat was going by so fast that he could hardly read it. Views were skyrocketing. He tried to take it a <em> little </em>slow, but his hands were already shaking a little bit as he tugged at the edge of the mask.</p><p>Jason whispered loudly over the voice chat, “Oh man it’s happening.”</p><p>“Jason, you know what he looks like,” Annabeth laughed.</p><p>“But <em> I </em>don’t!” Will called back, and with a small smile at that, Nico tore the rest of the mask from his face, shaking out his messy hair.</p><p>The chat was an ocean of all caps and keyboard smashes.</p><p>“Damn, I probably should’ve gotten a haircut before this, huh,” he muttered, half-seriously. His heart was pounding but he feigned nonchalance, even as his friends were screaming in his ears. One glance at the chat speeding by and he couldn’t keep from fully smiling.</p><p>Nico combed his fingers back through his hair before sighing. His friends and everyone watching were losing it. For just a moment, Nico realized Will was still quiet, and he glanced nervously at his icon, awaiting that green ring to appear…</p><p>“NICO LOOK AT YOUR FACE.”</p><p>Of all the reactions Will could have, that was the best Nico could hope for and he choked out a laugh of surprise before composing himself as quickly as possible. “I know my own face Will. So,” he said, trying to disguise the foreign giddiness in his voice and acting as though the chat wasn’t rushing by a mile a minute in capitalized awe and excitement. He clapped his hands together. “Mythomagic, anyone?”</p><p>~~~</p><p>YOUTUBER WEEKLY: Why Everyone is Freaking Out About Nico di Angelo and Why You Should Be Too</p><p>ENTERTAINMENT TODAY: Nico di Angelo (aka GhostKing) Shows His Face on Camera</p><p>READ MEJO: Top Ten Reasons We’re Obsessed with GhostKing</p><p>PERSONS MAGAZINE: YouTuber Nico di Angelo Reveals His Face for 1M Subscribers and he’s DREAMY</p><p>Trending on Twitter:</p><p>13 #ghostkingpretty</p><p>Lara Settler @larabaramara</p><p>*sighs* thought I was done simping for white boys on the Internet but here we go again #ghostkingpretty</p><p>Nightmare Spawn @darkcastle284</p><p>FHDISJAKFNFJGJJS?!!?! JGKHKSNANFNDJEJS. HNNNNN. #ghostkingpretty</p><p>Henry K @henreeeet</p><p>...maybe I’m not straight #ghostkingpretty</p><p>Piper McLean @queen-mclean</p><p>The next person who says @GhostKing looks like a younger @SeaweedBrain is getting blocked. Nico is clearly hotter. #ghostkingpretty</p><p>PercyJackson @SeaweedBrain</p><p>replying to @queen-mclean</p><p>I’d say make a poll but I think I’d lose and my ego can’t take it :( #ghostkingpretty</p><p>Hannah Thompson @hannah-t</p><p>Can we take a moment to thank @Apollo-holla for his gift to the world??? #ghostkingpretty</p><p>Will Solace @Apollo-holla</p><p>replying to @hannah-t</p><p>Thank YOU guys! I couldn’t get him to 1M on my own, and he deserves it. Also, I hadn’t seen his face either, and well...#ghostkingpretty</p><p>Nico sucked in a breath as his fingers stalled on Will’s tweet. He knew it was just the stupid hashtag, but the idea of Will calling him pretty made his heart beat just a little bit faster. Maybe a lot faster. It wasn’t important. The whole thing was a bit overwhelming; the outpour of praise was not something he expected, and to be honest, some of the comments were making him a little uncomfortable. Overall, though, he was grateful people were being nice. He opened a new tweet.</p><p>Streams Every Tuesday @GhostKing</p><p>Thank you all so much for the support and the very flattering hashtag. Thanks @Apollo-holla for bullying me into this. #ghostkingpretty I guess</p><p>He hit post and put his phone down. He was going to need a break for...several hours.</p><p>Just then, the phone buzzed, a call lighting up the screen. He looked down, startled, and saw it was Will. Still a bit shaken from the earlier tweet, he took a steadying breath before picking up.</p><p>“Hello?”</p><p>“Hey! How are you holding up?”</p><p>Nico laid back on his bed and stared at the ceiling. “I’m...overwhelmed.”</p><p>“Yeah, that sounds about right. Weirdest comment so far?”</p><p>Nico winced. “Some girl said she wanted to slice her tongue open on my cheekbones.”</p><p>Will laughed, and warmth fluttered in Nico’s stomach. “They’re creative, aren’t they? You’ll get used to it, and the thirst comments die down after the novelty fades.”</p><p>“I hope so,” Nico muttered.</p><p>“Anyway, I wanted to ask if you wanted to collab! Since your face is out there and all that. You don’t have to, but I have this really cool idea, and I think it’d be really fun to do with you, and—“</p><p>“Yeah, absolutely,” Nico said, the moment he remembered how to speak. “Of course. I’d love to collab with you.”</p><p>“Really?” Will’s voice was brimming with excitement.</p><p>How could Nico ever say no?</p><p>~~~</p><p>Nico took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair twice before knocking on Will’s apartment door. Meeting in person really shouldn’t be a big deal. So why was his heart hammering?</p><p>The door swung open, revealing a tall blond boy with tanned skin and a freckled face Nico had practically memorized.</p><p>Will’s face broke out into a grin. “Nico! Hey, welcome! Come on in, man!” He pulled him into a hug, and Nico stopped breathing for a minute. Then Will released him and pulled him into the apartment.</p><p>“I like your place,” Nico stammered out.</p><p>“Thanks,” Will said dismissively, moving over to a living room area that was fully set up to film with box lights and a tripod. “How was the drive? Not too bad?”</p><p>“Traffic was a little gross, but still, only 45 minutes,” Nico replied. He watched as Will fiddled with some camera settings.</p><p>“That’s so funny,” Will said. “Cali is so big, I sometimes forget people can live nearby-ish.” He looked up suddenly, his eyes wide. “Oh! Do you want water or anything? A sandwich? I can see if I have any snack things, I bet you’re hungry—“</p><p>“Water is fine,” Nico interrupted, his face red.</p><p>Will went to the kitchen area, which was more or less attached to the living room in an open space. “Okay, so, do I need to run through what we’re doing, or do you sort of have it?”</p><p>“I think so,” Nico replied. “We’re making Mythomagic costumes, right? Out of just… random stuff in your apartment?”</p><p>“I ordered some surprises,” Will said with a wink, “but for the most part, yeah, just whatever we can find.”</p><p>“Sounds fun,” Nico said, swallowing a knot in his throat.</p><p>~~~</p><p>“I can totally make a beard out of cotton balls, it’ll look just like Zeus.”</p><p>“I mean, maybe if you had more than three cotton balls in your bathroom closet.”</p><p>“...fair point. I could use a towel?”</p><p>“Sure?”</p><p>“Okay, go find tinfoil for his lightning bolt.”</p><p>“He has lightning POWERS in the game, it’s more like three lightning bolts that shoot from his fingers, and tinfoil isn’t gonna cover that.”</p><p>“GET THE FOIL, DI ANGELO.”</p><p>~~~</p><p>“I’m not wearing fishnet tights.”</p><p>“But Nico, I bought them just for this!”</p><p>“Why?!”</p><p>“For Poseidon! Fish! Nets!”</p><p>“It’s not happening. You put them on.”</p><p>“Please?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>~~~</p><p>“Will, your feet are HUGE, there’s no way these boots are going to stay on my feet.”</p><p>“Hephaestus has to wear boots! And your black converse aren’t going to cut it.”</p><p>“I look like Big Foot.”</p><p>“Shut up, you look like Hephaestus.”</p><p>“How are you planning on giving me a prosthetic arm?”</p><p>“Um...where’d you put that tinfoil?”</p><p>“Oh dear god.”</p><p>~~~</p><p>“What are the chances we can catch an actual owl for Athena?”</p><p>“Zero. It’s the middle of the day, Solace.”</p><p>“Maybe there’s a rebellious teen owl up late. A Nico owl.”</p><p>“What makes you think I was a rebellious teen?!”</p><p>“You listen to Paramore.”</p><p>~~~</p><p>“Wait, okay, I actually have an idea.”</p><p>“The tape is working, Nico! The grapes are just wet.”</p><p>“No, not about applying grapes to your body. Dionysus has this weapon called a <em> thyrsus </em> which is like a stick with a pine cone on it. So we just go outside and get a pine cone and glue it to a stick.”</p><p>“There are literally no pine trees near my building.”</p><p>“How sure are you?”</p><p>“Like, a thousand percent sure.”</p><p>“Oh.”</p><p>~~~</p><p>“Will you wear the fishnets for Aphrodite?”</p><p>“NO.”</p><p>~~~</p><p>“Alright, final two,” Will said, emerging from his bedroom after changing out of a bright pink dress he had bought specifically for Aphrodite (Nico had only blushed a little when he had it on). “I figured I have to do Apollo, obviously, and you could do Hades!”</p><p>“Why Hades?” Nico asked, eyebrow raised.</p><p>“GhostKing? Hades is literally the king of ghosts. Plus, you have his aesthetic.”</p><p>“I feel like I should be offended by that,” Nico grumbled. “Sure, whatever. Got any big black cloaks?”</p><p>Will snapped his fingers. “My Vader cape!” He dashed back into his bedroom, emerging a moment later with a black cape and a plastic lightsaber. “This is tragic,” he bemoaned, “we could have totally used this for the lightning for Zeus!” He hit a button on the hilt and the saber lit up purple.</p><p>Nico wrinkled his nose. “Why is it purple?”</p><p>“Because it’s Mace Windu’s!” Will exclaimed. Noting the blank look on Nico’s face, his jaw dropped. “Nico di Angelo. Have you not seen the Star Wars prequels?”</p><p>Nico winced. “Are you going to kill me if I say I’ve never seen any of them?”</p><p>Will gasped dramatically. “This is literally an outrage.” He turned to the camera, which Nico had almost forgotten about. “You heard it here first, folks. GhostKing is uncultured.”</p><p>“I know the basics,” Nico protested, snatching the cape from Will. “I’ve just never actually sat down and watched them.”</p><p>“We’re fixing that,” Will replied, determination sparking in his eyes. “What time do you need to be home?”</p><p>~~~</p><p>After they finished filming, Nico helped clean up while Will put his equipment in its “resting” position, off and pushed against the wall.</p><p>“Are you sure you don’t need to be back until late?” Will checked again.</p><p>Nico shrugged. “I have nothing going on. It’s a Friday night, you think I go to parties?”</p><p>Will laughed. “Okay, edge lord. Well, let me order pizza or something, we can definitely get through the original trilogy before midnight, and you’ll just have to come over some other time for the prequels and sequels.”</p><p>Nico’s heart fluttered unintentionally at the thought of coming over again, and not just for videos. “Sounds good. Why would we not start with the prequels? Wouldn’t they come first chronologically?”</p><p>“Because if we start with the prequels, you aren’t going to want to watch the rest,” Will said matter-of-factly.</p><p>“So...they’re bad?”</p><p>“That’s a very contentious opinion. I’ll let you decide. Personally, I love them. Most parts of them. It’s complicated. We have a complicated relationship.”</p><p>Nico smiled. He had been a bit worried that Will’s sunny attitude would be too much for his introverted self to handle, but actually hanging out with him was remarkably easy. It was clear that the persona he put on for his videos was different—not a different person, exactly, but an exaggerated and more energetic version. Nico would be exhausted after spending one hour with that Will. But this Will was...kind of perfect.</p><p>“Alright, pizza ordered,” Will announced. He grabbed a DVD motioned for Nico to sit on the couch. “Get comfy. We’re gonna be here a while.”</p><p>~~~</p><p>Nico blinked his eyes open sleepily. The TV buzzed quietly on the menu page for <em> The Phantom Menace. </em>He remembered finishing the original trilogy and starting the new movie with Will, but his memory grew foggy around the pod racing scene. He reached up to rub his eyes, and that’s when he noticed he was slumped against a certain sleeping blond boy.</p><p>Will was leaning against the pillows stacked up by the armrest, and Nico’s head rested just beneath his shoulder. They weren’t cuddling, exactly, but the situation still made his face burn bright red. He carefully extracted himself, immediately missing the warmth and the gentle motion of his breathing.</p><p>Nico squinted at the digital clock in the kitchen. 4:37 am. Way too late to drive back. He hoped Will wouldn’t mind the impromptu sleepover.</p><p>As quietly as he could, he turned the TV off and grabbed a pillow from the chair in the corner. He gently readjusted Will’s sleeping body on the couch to a position hopefully better for his spine and draped the throw blanket over him. Then he laid down on the floor with his newly acquired pillow, covered himself with the Darth Vader cape, and drifted off back to sleep.</p><p>~~~</p><p>Nico woke again to the sounds of noises in the kitchen. He stretched a crick in his back and realized with a start that he was on the couch. When did that happen?</p><p>“Oh, good morning,” Will said, seeing Nico sit up. “We fell asleep during the movie. I guess you’d know that, seeing as you moved to the floor. I woke up about an hour ago and moved you up to the couch. I hope you don’t mind.”</p><p>Nico was fully awake now, the knowledge that Will had lifted his unconscious body filling his brains.</p><p>“I made eggs!” Will said brightly.</p><p>And Nico couldn’t stop himself from smiling.</p><p>~~~</p><p>MYTHOMAGIC OUTFITS IRL except it’s just stuff in my apartment (ft. GhostKing)</p><p>Comments:</p><p><strong>annabanana</strong>: STOP IM LITERALLY OBSESSED! I know nothing about video games but I’m loving the mythomagic trend you’ve had going on recently lol it’s so cute</p><p><strong>joseph.mother</strong>: how has Nico never seen Star Wars wth</p><p><strong>hadleymorrison</strong>: will in the Aphrodite dress is *chefs kiss* destroy toxic masculinity yessir</p><p><strong>zarkaxio</strong>: i love their banter so much</p><p>&gt;<strong>melissuuuuuh</strong>: dare I say...ship?</p><p><strong>medley_daves</strong>: the look will gives Nico at 8:42 is so soft I actually had to take a moment</p><p><strong>humbugbah</strong>: Nico’s first ever video where his face is visible the whole time, this is actually so wholesome</p><p><strong>lacey839</strong>: okay guys are we going wico or nill?</p><p>&gt;<strong>melissuuuuuh</strong>: gross :/</p><p>&gt;<strong>lemonlimeade</strong>: hear me out, apolloking or ghostholla</p><p>&gt;<strong>lacey838</strong>: APOLLOKING!!!</p><p><br/>
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</p><p>Nico scrolled through the comments, his face heating up a bit at the “shipper” comments. He expected there to be some—there always were—but he hadn't expected so many. He was tempted to rewatch the video to see any of the alleged soft looks from Will, but the thought of even doing that gave him a borderline anxiety attack, so he decided against it.</p><p>Did Nico have a crush? Probably not. He just liked hanging out with Will, and his heartbeat picked up whenever he got a text from Will, and he had gotten into the habit of watching Will’s videos while he ate, and he couldn’t stop thinking about Will’s smile, and….</p><p>Okay, so MAYBE he had a crush.</p><p>And the biggest problem with that was, Nico traditionally didn’t handle crushes well. He overanalyzed every interaction, and the slightest thing could temporarily convince him that he was going to get married or the other person would never speak to him again. When he was crushing hard on Percy in his early YouTube days (he cringes just thinking about it now), there was a time that Percy put his hand on Nico’s shoulder and called him “buddy”. Nico had to cancel his stream that afternoon due to sheer emotional distress.</p><p>That said, having an army of amateur romance sleuths over-analyzing every interaction was probably too much fuel for his scampering subconscious. He would have to avoid the comments section more than he already did.</p><p>Everything was going to be fine.</p><p>~~~</p><p>Will Solace @Apollo-holla</p><p>Hey guys! I’ve been invited to be on the “Rising Star” panel at #vidcon this year! Tysm to everyone, this is such an honor!</p><p>Will Solace @Apollo-holla</p><p>
  <em>replying to @Apollo-holla</em>
</p><p>I’m joined by the lovely @hot-boy-leo @frankzhang @juniper-tree and @stollbros with the iconic @Seaweed-Brain moderating!</p><p>Percy Jackson @Seaweed-Brain</p><p>
  <em>Replying to @Apollo-holla</em>
</p><p>It’s boutta be lit #vidcon</p><p>Annabeth Chase @WiseGirl</p><p>I’m not sure who decided it was safe to have Leo and the Stoll Brothers in the same room but I’ll make sure there’s a fire extinguisher backstage #vidcon #risingstars</p><p>Hazel Levesque @hazel-makes</p><p>Frank and I will both be at #vidcon! He’s on the Rising Stars panel (yay!) and I’m doing some fun art challenges @austin.music and some surprise guests :D + a booth!</p><p>Nico di Angelo @GhostKing</p><p>Hey all. I will be at #vidcon but just wandering around lol. If ur there, pls support my half sis @hazel-makes at her super awesome art booth, she’s much cooler than I am.</p><p>~~~</p><p>Nico was stressed.</p><p>Will had invited him to hang out during Vidcon, and obviously Nico had accepted, but now, the morning of, it was beginning to dawn on him just exactly what that entailed. He stood outside Will’s apartment door, listening to the chattering of people inside who were also carpooling.</p><p>Austin and Kayla were somehow related to Will, though Nico couldn’t remember how. He followed Austin’s music account and knew that Kayla did commentary videos, a couple of which he had seen cross the trending page. Once they got there, they were meeting up with Annabeth and Percy, as well as Nico’s half-sister Hazel and her boyfriend, Frank, who made videos with animals but also baking videos and sometimes reactions? Nico actually wasn’t sure, but Hazel adored him, so that was a good enough endorsement.</p><p>Steeling his nerves, he knocked on the door, and it swung open almost immediately. Will’s face beamed, and Nico’s stomach fluttered.</p><p>“You’re here!” Will said excitedly. “Are you ready?”</p><p>“You,” Nico replied, “are very chipper for 6 in the morning.</p><p>Will grinned. “I’m an early riser, what can I say? I take it you had a bit of time getting up?” He gestured to Nico’s travel mug.</p><p>Nico downed the last of his coffee and sighed. “It’s like magic.”</p><p>“Will!” Kayla called from inside the apartment, “we have to go, like, now!”</p><p>“I know!” Will shouted back, rolling his eyes. “Here, I’ll just leave your mug on the counter, you don’t want to have to deal with that.”</p><p>“That’d be great, actually,” Nico said. He handed the travel mug to Will before almost being knocked over by Austin swinging a large music case out the door.</p><p>“Sorry!” Austin said. “Where I go, the saxophone goes.”</p><p>Nico’s eyes widened. This was going to be a long 2-hour car trip.</p><p>~~~</p><p>Nico flopped back onto his hotel bed, exhausted by the long car ride, checking in, and the caffeine crash. He was grateful he hadn’t had to book a plane ticket, but he wasn’t used to any sort of major travel.</p><p>Just then, he heard a knock. He groaned, pulling himself up to open the door. It swung open to reveal the grinning face of Jason Grace.</p><p>“Jason!” Nico gasped. “You...you’re here! I thought you weren’t going to make it!”</p><p>“Surprise,” Jason replied, pulling Nico into a hug. “My schedule got shifted around, and here I am!”</p><p>Jason wasn’t a YouTuber in the strictest sense, but he was one of the faces of a major entertainment company. He primarily focused on charity work and internal organization, but still found time to be in lighthearted videos (that were usually raising money for said charity work). Nico had gotten to know him early on, and, against his wishes, Jason forced his way into becoming one of Nico’s best friends. He was the first person Nico came out to, and had been nothing but supportive and constant ever since.</p><p>“So,” Jason said, pulling back, “I think Percy is on this floor. Do you know anyone else?” He said Percy’s name carefully, but Nico oddly hadn’t thought twice about his former crush since arriving.</p><p>“Annabeth, obviously,” he replied, “Hazel and Frank, I think, Leo Valdez, who I haven’t met but am terrified of, and Reyna...something. And, um, Will Solace,” he tacked on, as if finding out Will was rooming near him hadn’t sent him into a spiral the moment he found out.</p><p>Jason did not let it slide. “Yeah, I saw you did a collab with him. That’s big! Are you guys friends?”</p><p>“You better say yes,” a voice said. Nico’s head turned left abruptly, to see Will walking down the hallway, an impish smile on his face. “Hey, Will Solace, nice to meet you, I’ve heard great things.” He shook Jason’s hand.</p><p>“Jason, Will, Will, Jason,” Nico said hesitantly (and unnecessarily). He had no qualms about Jason and Will meeting. He was slightly concerned, however, that Jason would notice the slight blush that dusted his cheeks.</p><p>Will turned to Nico. “Hey, Leo rigged up a Wii to his TV and some people are playing Mario Kart, you in? Jason, you’re invited too, of course.”</p><p>“Yeah, sure,” Nico managed to say.</p><p>“Sweet! Let’s go!”</p><p>As they walked down, Jason caught Nico’s eye and raised an eyebrow. Nico pointedly looked away.</p><p>Of course the blush had been noticed. For a man who rarely wore his glasses, Jason sure was annoyingly perceptive.</p><p>~~~</p><p>Will Solace @Apollo-holla</p><p>Fun fact: Nico cannot play Mario Kart</p><p>Nico di Angelo @GhostKing</p><p>
  <em>replying to @Apollo-holla</em>
</p><p>LIES. SLANDER. I’m used to MK8 on the switch, I don’t like having to turn the remote with my hands.</p><p>Leo Valdez @hot-boy-leo</p><p>My Wii console is being attacked :(</p><p>Piper McLean @queen-mclean</p><p>
  <em>replying to @hot-boy-leo</em>
</p><p>this is why you’re not a gamer, sweetie, u can’t keep up with the trends</p><p>Leo Valdez @hot-boy-leo</p><p>
  <em>replying to @queen-mclean</em>
</p><p>I could totally be a gamer! U should see my minecraft server</p><p>Nico di Angelo @GhostKing</p><p>...Leo’s minecraft server is insane</p><p>~~~</p><p>Day one of Vidcon flew by, and after all the events, Nico had gone out with Hazel to grab dinner and catch up. It was good to see his half-sister, but he was exhausted.</p><p>His phone buzzed, and he picked it up half-heartedly while kicking off his shoes.</p><p><strong>Will</strong>: Leo’s got Wii sports set up, u want in?</p><p><strong>Nico</strong>: I think I’m done for today, sorry</p><p><strong>Will</strong>: no worries! rest up, we’ll miss you</p><p><strong>Nico</strong>: I don’t generally add much to group settings, but I’m glad you think so</p><p><strong>Will</strong>: I’ll miss you. I always do</p><p><strong>Will</strong>: lol</p><p>Nico felt his heart rate speed up the slightest amount. It meant nothing. That was something friends said all the time. Still, the small sentiment bolstered his hopes just long enough to send one message.</p><p><strong>Nico</strong>: hey could you drop by my room btw? I have something for you</p><p>A pause. Then, Will responded.</p><p><strong>Will</strong>: sure thing!</p><p>A few moments later, there was a knock at the door. Nico ran his hand through his hair once before opening. As always, the sight of Will made him feel a bit weaker.</p><p>Will grinned. “You do look tired.”</p><p>“Thanks,” Nico grumbled. “Um, so, this isn’t really a big thing, but remember that baking video you did a while back? And you made snickerdoodles but accidentally forgot the baking soda and it was a whole thing?”</p><p>Will raised an eyebrow playfully. “Yeah, I remember. Didn’t know you watched my old videos, ghost man.”</p><p>Nico glared at him, trying to pretend like his heart wasn’t pounding. “Anyway, they had snickerdoodles at the restaurant Hazel and I went to, and I thought of you, because of that video, you know, and, well, I got one but then I was full and basically I thought you might want it?” He held up the cookie, wrapped in a white paper napkin. Internally, he winced. This was a terrible idea, the cookie was probably stale—</p><p>“Oh my god!” Will exclaimed, grabbing the dessert. “Nico, these are my FAVORITES. I seriously never get tired of them. My mom used to bake them when I was little whenever I got my report card or on my birthday and I just…” He looked back up, his eyes soft. “Thank you.”</p><p>“Uh, you’re welcome, I guess,” Nico mumbled.</p><p>Will bit into the cookie with gusto before shoving the entire thing in his mouth, making his cheeks puff out like a chipmunk.</p><p>Nico laughed a bit as Will swallowed. “I guess I’ll remember that for the future.”</p><p>Will grinned. “Seriously, thank you.”</p><p>“Uh, hang on, you’ve got…” Nico reached out instinctively to brush crumbs away from the corner of Will’s mouth. The blond boy stilled and Nico realized what he had just done. He jerked his hand back, his fingertips tingling. “Sorry.”</p><p>“No worries,” Will said with a soft smile. “Now go to sleep, emo. Tomorrow, it gets even better.”</p><p>~~~</p><p>Nico di Angelo @GhostKing</p><p>[posted a photo] Hazel’s art booth is incredible. Check out some of this 3D stuff! @hazel-makes</p><p>Percy Jackson @SeaweedBrain</p><p>To the people asking why I have my vlogging camera out: literally why do you think</p><p>Bennett Blake @sk8r.boi69</p><p>I saw percy’s with his camera so if I’m in a vlog background you heard it here first folks I’m famous</p><p>Jason Grace @JasonGrace</p><p>A surprise guest appearance from @queen-mclean at our panel today! Her charity work is an inspiration to us all.</p><p>God’s Mistake @yeetyeetskrt</p><p>uhhhhh wasn’t there a rumor that jason and piper were dating? When was that? Is that true?</p><p>Drew Tanaka @pageant.princess</p><p>[posted a photo] SOOOO excited to catch up with my longtime bestie @queen-mclean !!! I know she’s an activist, but she could totally be a model, right??? LOVE U GIRL &lt;3</p><p>Sadie Kane @stop-it-sadie</p><p>
  <em>replying to @pageant.princess</em>
</p><p>lmao piper looks like she’d literally rather be anywhere else and I don’t blame her #luv</p><p>Annabeth Chase @WiseGirl</p><p>[posted a photo] exploring some local architecture with @SeaweedBrain. He has mastered pretending to be interested and I love him for it.</p><p>Katy Demola @katycat</p><p>when will someone love me like Percy loves Annabeth #rip</p><p>Will Solace @Apollo-holla</p><p>[posted a photo] lunch break with @GhostKing @heyaustin and @kaylalala</p><p>
  <em> Will Solace liked a tweet </em>
</p><p>Gina Sun @sunny-w-gina</p><p>Nico di Angelo is literally the cutest human in the world</p><p>~~~</p><p>Nico trailed behind the group as they chatted and laughed. Percy had ordered an insane amount of pizza and invited them all to his room. Nico scrolled through his Twitter feed, half paying attention.</p><p>“Hey, you holding up okay?” Will said.</p><p>Nico looked up suddenly, not having realized Will had fallen back. He pocketed his phone. “Yeah, actually. I probably won’t stay at Percy’s long, but I can hang with this group a bit more.”</p><p>“Okay, don’t overdo it or anything,” Will said, concern laced in his voice. They walked in silence for a moment. Then Will said, “how do you know Percy, by the way?”</p><p>Nico winced unintentionally. “He, uh, we met when he was still getting started, pretty significant following but not a star or anything. I found him and we lived nearby and ran into each other a lot. I was, um, pretty obsessed with him. For a while, actually. So I sort of forced myself into his life.” He laughed bitterly. “Then I realized my obsession was actually a gay awakening and that complicated things. But I worked it out and we’re chill now. I don’t think he knows.”</p><p>Will took the information in quietly. “That’s cool. I didn’t know you were gay.”</p><p>Nico’s stomach twisted. “Oh. Yeah. Surprise?”</p><p>“Oh, it’s not a big deal,” Will assured him. “Seriously. I’m queer.”</p><p>Nico stumbled a bit, barely catching himself before plummeting to the ground. “Oh?” he said, in the most painfully casual voice he could muster.</p><p>“Yeah.” Will shrugged. “Not sure I’ve got a label beyond that. I like people. And I’m definitely not straight.”</p><p>“Nice,” Nico said. <em> Nice? Your crush has the possibility of being attracted to you and you say ‘nice’? </em></p><p>“Nice,” Will echoed, grinning. And just like that, it was fine.</p><p>The evening was filled with laughter, stupid games, and just enough alcohol that they didn’t care how loud they were. Nico passed on the spirits. It was hard enough getting up early. He didn’t need a hangover to contend with as well.</p><p>At around midnight, Nico said goodnight, knowing the miniature party could easily stretch until 3am. Will offered to walk him back to his room—a pointless gesture, and the pointlessness of it making Nico all the more nervous.</p><p>They stopped outside the hotel door. Nico held his key card awkwardly. “This is me,” he joked.</p><p>“Sure is,” Will replied. He was standing intoxicatingly close, like at any moment he could lean in and rest his forehead on Nico’s.</p><p>Nico looked up at Will, his blue eyes, sun-kissed freckles, and hair that was frizzing up a bit more than usual from the humidity outside. The hotel lights in the hallway seemed to make a halo behind him, catching the frizz in an artificial yet stunningly cosmic light.</p><p>One thought rang clear through Nico’s mind. <em> I want to kiss you. I really want to kiss you. </em>But he stood frozen.</p><p>Will’s lips parted slightly before speaking. “I guess I should head back, huh?” he said softly. Nico could feel the words brush against his cheek.</p><p>He swallowed. “Uh, yeah. I...I guess so.” <em> Please don’t go. I really want to kiss you. </em></p><p>Will stepped back and grinned, but it seemed too bright, too wide—his YouTuber personality popped back into place. “Well, goodnight. Sweet dreams, rest well, and get hype for tomorrow. Last day, best day, am I right?”</p><p>“Y-yeah,” Nico stammered. “Night.” He slid the card key in the wrong way, the red light mocking him as he turned the card around before the door mercifully opened. Right before it closed behind him, he turned and caught sight of Will’s smile fading and his eyes dropping to the floor.</p><p>~~~</p><p>Leo Valdez @hot-boy-leo</p><p>ITS PANEL DAY, PEOPLE! LETS GOOOOOOOOOOO</p><p>Melanie Roscoe @melon-lawd</p><p>@hot-boy-leo if there isn’t at least one flame-spitting robot at this panel, I’m going to be disappointed</p><p>Leo Valdez @hot-boy-leo</p><p>replying to @melon-lawd</p><p>pls don’t be disappointed with me, the safety people said my babies were a “hazard” or smth :(</p><p>Travis Stoll @stoll-two</p><p>Rt if you think I can successfully tie Connor’s shoelaces together during this panel without him noticing</p><p>Clovis H. @gnight-talks</p><p>ASMR vid going up at 2 today, #Vidcon themed. You’ll see.</p><p>Frank Zhang @frankzhang</p><p>panel!</p><p>Some Guy @justsomeguy_</p><p>why do I feel like Frank and Leo could be best friends or like enemies lol</p><p>Juniper @juniper-trees</p><p>Hey guys! Can’t wait for the panel! While you’re here, if you haven’t already donated to the funds for California wildfire relief, the link is in my bio!</p><p>Piper McLean @queen-mclean</p><p>[posted a photo] Good morning from all these losers &lt;3</p><p>Trisha Jamison @trishaj</p><p>
  <em>retweeting @queen-mclean</em>
</p><p>this picture is so wholesome :’) Percy, Annabeth, Will, Nico, AND piper?!? Be still, my heart</p><p>Farm Sustainably @katie-gardner</p><p>
  <em>replying to @queen-mclean</em>
</p><p>awww, Percy’s lil kiss to Annabeth’s head! Love you guys and miss u!</p><p>Madison Meyers @madi.me</p><p>
  <em>retweeting @queen-mclean</em>
</p><p>OKAY CALL ME CRAZY but why do Nico and Will look like they were just holding hands?!?</p><p>Weird Book Girl @sara-lee</p><p>
  <em>replying to @madi.me</em>
</p><p>...oh my god ur right. #apolloking? Do I dare hope?</p><p>Melissa Hawkins @melissuuuh</p><p>[posted a photo] okay the zoomed in quality is weird but LOOK HOW CLOSE THEIR HANDS ARE. Coincidence? I think NOT</p><p>Vivian L. @viva-l-vida</p><p>
  <em>replying to @melissuuuuh</em>
</p><p>this photo is how close I am to losing my mind over #apolloking</p><p>Ryan Hewitt @ryguy-hehe</p><p>people need to stop shipping real people. It’s weird and unnecessary. #apolloking</p><p>ApolloKing @melissuuuh</p><p>I shouldn’t be this obsessed but here we are #apolloking</p><p>~~~</p><p>Nico stood backstage, listening to the strange echo of the mics and the laughter of the sold-out crowd. He had been paying attention at the beginning, but was beginning to zone out. He hadn’t slept well, and the exhaustion from the past three days of non-stop socialization was beginning to crash down on him.</p><p>“How you holding up?” a voice from behind him said.</p><p>He turned to see Annabeth setting what looked like a tray down on a small table.</p><p>“I’m tired,” he admitted.</p><p>“I thought so,” she replied. She picked up a cup from the tray and handed it to him. “It’s not the best coffee in the world, but it’s free.”</p><p>Nico accepted it carefully. “Uh, thanks. You didn’t have to do that.”</p><p>Annabeth shrugged. “It’s alright. Percy doesn’t drink coffee, though he still loves caffeine. It calms down his ADHD.”</p><p>Nico nodded, unsure why she was supplying that information. He took a sip, the warmth surprisingly comforting amidst the chilling AC in the convention center.</p><p>“How’s fame treating you?”</p><p>Nico sputtered. “Oh, uh, I wouldn’t say I’m famous, honestly. I mean, the media attention has been...strange, to say the least, but I don’t feel any different.”</p><p>She smirked. “Yeah, sounds about right. I don’t worry about it going to your head. But I do have a feeling you’re the next big thing.”</p><p>Nico’s face grew hot. “Thanks,” he mumbled.</p><p>“Just remember that every single person up here is a dork,” Annabeth said, “so you fit right in.”</p><p>Nico smiled. Then it wavered. “Uh, Annabeth?”</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“I just wanted you to know...I used to have a crush on Percy.” He stared at the coffee cup in his hands.</p><p>Annabeth nodded. “I thought so.”</p><p>He wasn’t surprised. She was perceptive. “But I really am over him now and you guys are great together. He’s not really my type, anyway.”</p><p>She laughed and Nico looked up. Her eyes shone with amusement. “Is your type by any chance blonde boys who are bad at video games?”</p><p>Nico’s face turned red and Annabeth laughed even harder.</p><p>“You’re a menace,” he muttered.</p><p>Just then, she looked up at the stage and made a shushing motion. Nico turned his attention back to the panel. Will was talking.</p><p>“...a great question, actually. For those of you who maybe didn’t see, he reached out to me when we got randomly paired in a Mythomagic lobby and offered to, you know, actually teach me how to play.” The audience laughed. “But since then, we’ve been talking and playing a lot. I’m super lucky to know him, and I’m so insanely proud that he just broke one million.”</p><p>The audience cheered and Nico was very glad there were no cameras pointing at him just then as they would have absolutely betrayed his embarrassment.</p><p>“But you guys should be so excited for what he’s going to do next. He’s a fantastic streamer and person.”</p><p>“Collab!” a random voice called out from the audience.</p><p>Will laughed, that incredible, warm sound that made Nico feel relaxed and energized all at once. “We’ll definitely collab again, although maybe not on Mythomagic. I think playing with me messes up his stats. But trust me, he’s not getting rid of me any time soon.” At that, Will’s eyes flickered over to where Nico sat and they made contact for the briefest moment. Will grinned, then looked away.</p><p>Nico took another sip of coffee, pretending his heart rate was only high from caffeine.</p><p>~~~</p><p>The ride back was quiet.</p><p>Kayla and Austin had completely passed out in the back seat, leaving Nico in the passenger with the aux cord. He put on his favorite playlist of jazz covers to video game soundtracks, and Will kept trying to guess the games (only consistently getting Mario and Zelda pieces).</p><p>Before too long, they were at Will’s apartment. It was almost 11. Nico stifled a yawn. He was not looking forward to the 45 minute drive home.</p><p>“You’re sure you’ll be alright?” Will asked Kayla and Austin.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m totally refreshed,” Kayla said, pushing the still-groggy Austin into her Subaru. “I bounce back fast.”</p><p>They waved goodbye as the car pulled out of the driveway. Nico fiddled with his bags, looking for his keys.</p><p>“You’re not tired?” Will asked, concerned.</p><p>“Not really,” Nico lied. “I’ll be fine.”</p><p>“Oh!” Will said suddenly. “Your mug! It’s still upstairs.”</p><p>“Oh.”</p><p>“Um...do you want to come upstairs and get it?”</p><p>Nico’s heart rate picked up. “Uh, sure.”</p><p>He followed Will up the stairs, arriving at the familiar door. He watched as the blonde boy fumbled with his keys for a moment before unlocking the apartment and stepping in. Nico crossed the threshold a bit awkwardly, maneuvering his bags on his shoulders so they wouldn’t stick out to the side like a Victorian ball gown.</p><p>Will’s apartment was just as comforting as before, even without any of the lights turned on. Will crossed to the island and picked up Nico’s mug, handing it to him.</p><p>“Thanks.” Nico’s fingers wrapped around the cup. Why were his hands shaking?</p><p>“Yeah, of course.”</p><p>They stood there for a moment, staring at each other in the dark. Nico knew it was impossible, but he could’ve sworn in that moment Will was glowing. It was probably just the light sneaking in from the hallway.</p><p>“I should, uh, get going then,” Nico said softly.</p><p>“Yeah,” Will murmured. They stood still a beat longer. Then Will jolted. “Uh, let me get the door for you.”</p><p>A pointless gesture. Nico was closer to the door, and in the short hallway that led into Will’s apartment, Nico’s bags were taking up all the space. Will shimmied past them, bumping into the bigger one.</p><p>“Oh, shit—“</p><p>“It’s okay, let me just, uh—“</p><p>“I’m sorry, I’m just gonna—“</p><p>“No, you’re good, ah, wait you’re gonna get tangled—“</p><p>And then they were pressed up against each other, Nico’s duffle bag against his back, Will against the opposite wall. They stopped moving.</p><p>Will looked him in the eye, best Nico could tell in the darkness. He could feel Will’s breath on his cheek. It smelled like mint.</p><p>
  <em> I want to kiss you. </em>
</p><p>“Hey,” Will said quietly, laughing slightly.</p><p>“Hey,” Nico said back. <em> I really want to kiss you. </em></p><p>“So this is—“</p><p>“I really want to kiss you.”</p><p>Everything froze.</p><p>Then Will smiled. “Oh, thank god,” he breathed.</p><p>Then his hands were on Nico’s cheeks and their lips brushed together.</p><p>Nico’s brain short circuited. For a moment, the only thoughts in his brain were WILL. WILL. WILL LIPS MINE KISS YES. YES. WILL. A clattering sound brought him out of his daze and they broke apart.</p><p>Will chuckled. “You dropped your mug.”</p><p>“Whatever,” Nico said, dropping his bags to the ground and surging forward.</p><p>Will’s back was already against the wall, so Nico grabbed the back of his head and pulled him into another kiss. This one wasn’t soft, but searing, the fireworks that he read about but doubted they actually existed. Their faces fit together perfectly, Will’s mouth opening ever so slightly, capturing his lips again and again.</p><p>Nico broke the kiss, taking a step back. Will instantly looked concerned. “Was that too much? I’m so sorry, I just—“</p><p>“No!” Nico blurted. If his face wasn’t red before, it certainly was now. “I just...needed to breathe.”</p><p>Even in the almost-dark, he could see Will’s mouth break out into a grin. Then he stepped forward, his chest pressed to Nico’s. “I don’t mind going slow.”</p><p>Nico reached up and threaded his fingers through Will’s hair. “Nah, I’m good now,” he said quietly. His hair soft, softer than anything Nico had ever felt before, and he ran his hand through again.</p><p>Will bent his head down, pulling Nico into a slow, languid kiss. His hands moved down the smaller boy’s side, and he hooked his hands around his thighs, lifting him up until Nico wrapped his legs around Will’s waist. Without breaking the kiss—the sweet, oceanically encompassing kiss—he walked forward, pressing Nico against the wall so he was pinned in place. Nico sighed, turning his head slightly for another angle of Elysium. They parted with a sigh.</p><p>“Stay,” Will whispered, his mouth hovering over Nico’s so that he not only heard the passion of the word, but felt it as it manifested.</p><p>And how could Nico—why would he?—ever say no?</p><p>~~~</p><p>Leo Valdez @hot-boy-leo</p><p>BACK IN TEXAS WHERE MY ROBOTS CAN SPIT FLAMES IN PEACE</p><p>Percy Jackson @SeaweedBrain</p><p>Sick panel. Vlog coming soon. Catching up on sleep rn #rip</p><p>Piper McLean @queen-mclean</p><p>Vidcon was way too much fun. Might be going dark for a bit, helping Dad with some research #nospoilers</p><p>Annabeth Chase @WiseGirl</p><p>
  <em> shared a link </em>
</p><p>An excellent summary of @GhostKing ‘s career so far. If YouTube were a stock market, invest in this one, guys</p><p>Isabelle Demarco @isaisa13</p><p>I’ve become such a Nico di Angelo stan account in the past 24 hours it’s not even funny</p><p>Yasmine Asfour @yaaaaasmine</p><p>
  <em> replying to @isaisa13 </em>
</p><p>SAME I’ve been binging his VODs, what is it about him that just HITS my sense of humor</p><p>ApolloKing @melissuuuuh</p><p>
  <em> replying to @isaisa13 </em>
</p><p>I have also become a Nico stan but I think the reasoning behind that is obvious</p><p>
  <em> Will Solace liked </em>
</p><p>Jennifer Maldova @jennymaldo11</p><p>Not me drafting three separate thirst tweets about Nico before remembering my Dignity #ghostkingpretty remember that tag lmao</p><p>
  <em> Will Solace liked </em>
</p><p>Laura Giovani @giohottie</p><p>Two months ago I would’ve said my youtube crush was Will, but nico’s lookin kind of fine tbh #oop</p><p>
  <em> Will Solace liked </em>
</p><p>Malcom Pace @pace-thyself</p><p>@GhostKing is about to blow up for sure. Can’t wait.</p><p>~</p><p>Nico woke slowly, the sun filtering in and resting on his eyelids. He stretched and shifted, his leg bumping against something. He opened his eyes (no small effort) and glanced to the side. Will was sitting up, quietly scrolling on his phone, a soft smile on his face. The sunlight streamed in from behind him, lighting up his skin and painting a halo around his head. He was glowing.</p><p>Just then, he looked down and his eyes connected with Nico’s. His smile widened. “Good morning, sleepyhead,” he teased.</p><p>“Morning, idiot,” Nico mumbled.</p><p>Will laughed. “I take it you’re more of a night owl, then?”</p><p>“Permanently exhausted pigeon,” Nico replied.</p><p>Will laughed again, tilting his head up, and Nico watched, entranced, as the sunlight winked around his shifting skin.</p><p>“Maybe you are Apollo,” Nico said quietly.</p><p>Will looked down, amused. “Please. Apollo was my father, call me Will.”</p><p>“Dork,” Nico replied. He reached up and traced Will’s tattoo, an intricate design of a sun splayed across his chest. “What’s this, then?”</p><p>“I’m just committed to my aesthetic,” Will said with a grin.</p><p>“You’re in med school, why are you so ripped?” Nico muttered.</p><p>“You’re a streamer, why are you so….” He trailed off. “I don’t have one. But you are pretty.”</p><p>Nico felt his face heat up and turned to the side. “Gross.”</p><p>“If I’m so gross, why do you have a big gay crush on me?”</p><p>Nico sputtered, sitting up.</p><p>Will laughed even harder. “Don’t worry.” His eyes softened. “I’ve had a crush on you since I saw your stupid, pretty face.”</p><p>“Good to know I’m being objectified,” Nico said dryly.</p><p>“Totally,” Will replied. “Not like I was obsessed with you since you kicked my ass in Mythomagic.”</p><p>Nico smiled despite himself. “Yeah, you suck.” He subconsciously rubbed his thumb across the back of Will’s hand. “I’m pretty sure I’ve liked you since that collab video.”</p><p>“It was the fishnets, wasn’t it?”</p><p>“DEFINITELY not.”</p><p>Will laughed again, and Nico’s heart soared. He was...happy. He was really happy. It felt so easy. He wondered if this was love— happiness that came easily, the joy to simply be in someone else’s presence. Feeling safe. Feeling warm. But the time for naming feelings was later. Right now, he was just going to allow himself to be happy. That was enough.</p><p>“What are you thinking for breakfast?” Will said.</p><p>Nico shrugged. “I’m kind of garbage at cooking.”</p><p>Will smiled before leaning in and brushing his lips against Nico’s. “Maybe I can teach YOU something this time, yeah?”</p><p>And it was perfect.</p><p>~~~</p><p>Jason Grace @JasonGrace</p><p>Happy August! Take a look at this article I worked on with @ReynaARA on the history behind Augustus himself!</p><p>Annabeth Chase @Wise-Girl</p><p>Big news dropping soon…</p><p>Percy Jackson @SeaweedBrain</p><p>SOON IS NOW! On Aug 18, I’m doing a charity livestream for my birthday, raising money for Ocean Environmental Restoration! (1/6)</p><p>&gt;it’s going to be 12 hours, non-stop, featuring some of my YouTube buddies hanging out and playing games. Some events INCLUDE…(2/6)</p><p>&gt;Bob Ross but blindfolded with @hazel-makes and @RachelDareDraw (3/6)</p><p>&gt;put your hand in a box and guess the critter with @FrankZhang (4/6)</p><p>&gt;the hot wings challenge with @hot-boy-leo and I already know it’s gonna go poorly for me (5/6)</p><p>&gt;playing Mythomagic with @Apollo-holla while @GhostKing tries to keep us alive (6/6)</p><p>Percy Jackson @SeaweedBrain</p><p>Oh, also, @Wise-Girl will be there running tech and my old buddy @g_underwood will be hanging out. FUN TIMES!</p><p>PERCY’S EPIC BIRTHDAY BASH TO SAVE THE SEA</p><p>Chat:</p><p><strong>melissuuuh</strong>: I’ve been waiting for the Nico and Will section all day, it’s been 8 hours</p><p><strong>silenabb</strong>: it’s like they’re always together nowadays that’s kinda wholesome</p><p><strong>mrs_oleary</strong>: hi percy</p><p><strong>lmao420_xx</strong>: who are these people</p><p><strong>jennamint</strong>: ASHFJKS WHY DOES WILL LAUGH SO HARD AT ALL OF NICOS JOKES</p><p><strong>graham.whacker</strong>: at least Percy knows how sprint remember Will’s first time playing lol</p><p><strong>melissuuuuh</strong>: look at Nico’s eyes and tell me that boy isn’t SOFT</p><p><strong>k8lyn_</strong>: oh my god Nico looks so defeated already</p><p><strong>redfishbluefish</strong>: okay but will has actually improved SO MUCH since he started, u think he’s been practicing???</p><p><strong>hydrahead37</strong>: Annabeth would be so much better at this game lmao</p><p><strong>icarus-is-gay</strong>: PERCY TO YOUR LEFT</p><p><strong>graham.whacker</strong>: YOUR LEFT</p><p><strong>k8lyn_</strong>: LEFT LEFT LEFT</p><p><strong>silenabb</strong>: f</p><p><strong>flappyboird</strong>: f</p><p><strong>tyler345</strong>: f</p><p><strong>jennamint</strong>: f</p><p><strong>melissuuuuh</strong>: f</p><p><strong>lmao420_xx</strong>: f</p><p>~~~</p><p>Will Solace @Apollo-holla</p><p>Happy September! For my fellow students returning to school, cry with me! Also, uploads slowing due to Education ™</p><p>Nico di Angelo @GhostKing</p><p>Excited to announce I have an editor now so I’ll be uploading stream highlights to YouTube shoutout to @pace-thyself</p><p>Malcom Pace @pace-thyself</p><p>
  <em> retweet @GhostKing </em>
</p><p>Let’s gooooo</p><p>~~~</p><p>Piper McLean @queen-mclean</p><p>The height of spooky season is upon us #happyhalloween</p><p>Nico di Angelo @GhostKing</p><p>two words: skeleton war #iykyk</p><p>Percy Jackson @SeaweedBrain</p><p>Annabeth told me she might go as a goddess for Halloween but I’m confused bc she already is one???</p><p>Frank Zhang @FrankZhang</p><p>all the candy in the stores is so tempting but I know it will all be on sale tomorrow so I’m waiting</p><p>Will Solace @Apollo-holla</p><p>
  <em> posted a picture </em>
</p><p>Happy Halloween from Link (yours truly) and Dark Link (@GhostKing)! We’re having WAY too much fun with these costumes</p><p>ApolloKing @melissuuuuh</p><p>ASJDKGKSK WE’RE BEING FED TODAY LADS</p><p>~~~</p><p>Piper McLean @queen-mclean</p><p>Happy Thanksgiving! Just a reminder to read up on the history of the holiday and how you can support Native Americans. I’ll be tweeting out links all day &lt;3</p><p>Hazel Levesque @hazel-makes</p><p>Forever grateful for my brother who’s with me today (@GhostKing), friends who have become my family :) and for everyone who continues to support me</p><p>Leo Valdez @hot-boy-leo</p><p>Today, I’m grateful for HOW THICC I AM</p><p>~~~</p><p>Percy Jackson @SeaweedBrain</p><p>MERRY CHRISTMAS! Hope you’re blasting Mariah Carey and eating way too much</p><p>Will Solace @Apollo-holla</p><p>The Solace family has an extra member for Christmas this year, so expect to see him popping up in my yearly Christmas vlog @GhostKing ;)</p><p>ApolloKing @melissuuuuh</p><p>
  <em> replying to @Apollo-holla </em>
</p><p>WHAT DOES THIS MEAN. THE IMPLICATIONS ARE TOO MUCH FOR ME.</p><p>Sadie Kane @stop-it-sadie</p><p>New video! 25 DAYS OF VLOGMAS: WE BLEW UP THE BRITISH MUSEUM?!? (collab with Carter)</p><p>Nico di Angelo @GhostKing</p><p>Will getting me Clone Wars merch feels less like a gift and more like an aggressive way to get me to watch Clone Wars</p><p>~~~</p><p>Will Solace @Apollo-holla</p><p>Happy New Years! Pew pew pew (those are firework noises)</p><p>Madison Meyers @madi.me</p><p>
  <em> replying to @Apollo-holla </em>
</p><p>Who’d u kiss at midnight</p><p>Will Solace @Apollo-holla</p><p>
  <em> replying to @madi.me </em>
</p><p>A cutie ;)</p><p>Jaqueline Archer @jay-quelin</p><p>HEY WILL SOLACE FANS YALL SEEIN THIS???</p><p>Rose Jackson @bed-of-roses</p><p>DOES WILL HAVE A GIRLFRIEND?! My dreams are dead</p><p>ApolloKing @melissuuuuh</p><p>...Nico’s a cutie, right?</p><p>~~~</p><p>Nico di Angelo @GhostKing</p><p>I have aged.</p><p>Jason Grace @JasonGrace</p><p>HAPPY BIRTHDAY @GhostKing!!! They grow up so fast :’)</p><p>Annabeth Chase @Wise-Girl</p><p>Happy birthday, Nico. Hoping all your birthday wishes come true. ;)</p><p>
  <em> Nico di Angelo liked </em>
</p><p>Vivian L. @viva-l-vida</p><p>
  <em> posted a picture </em>
</p><p>HBD @GhostKing! So this is supposed to be you as Hades. I hope you like it!</p><p>Will Solace @Apollo-holla</p><p>For your birthday @GhostKing, I will let you beat me in Mythomagic. You’re welcome.</p><p>Nico di Angelo @GhostKing</p><p>
  <em> retweeting @Apollo-holla </em>
</p><p>If anyone is curious, he actually got me this blanket that’s essentially Black 2.0 so I can be consumed by the void. Don’t tell him how much I like it.</p><p>~~~</p><p>Percy Jackson @SeaweedBrain</p><p>Happy Valentine’s Day to my inspiration, soulmate, and best friend. Thanks for settling for me @Wise-Girl</p><p>Annabeth Chase @Wise-Girl</p><p>
  <em> retweeting @SeaweedBrain </em>
</p><p>Dork. Love you.</p><p>Nico di Angelo @GhostKing</p><p>Streaming today. Different from my usual stuff, but it should be fun.</p><p>GHOSTKING: PLAYING WEIRD DATING SIMS UNTIL I CANT TAKE IT ANYMORE</p><p>Chat:</p><p><strong>mynamejess</strong>: seduce the fridge first omg</p><p><strong>glock.enspiel</strong>: TOASTER TOASTER TOASTER</p><p><strong>k8lyn_</strong>: y’all are sleepin on the dishwasher and it shows</p><p><strong>emandems</strong>: wait</p><p><strong>octobot8</strong>: uuuuuuuuh</p><p><strong>lailagg</strong>: UMMMMM</p><p><strong>hannah104</strong>: DID I HEAR THAT RIGHT</p><p><strong>anesthesiacore</strong>: SIR WHO JUST CALLED YOU BABE</p><p><strong>whit-knee</strong>: SOMEONE JUST SAID HEY BABE AND THAT SOMEONE WAS DEFINITELY MALE</p><p><strong>ginasun</strong>: DONT TELL HIM YOULL BE OUT IN AN HOUR TELL HIM TO COME IN HERE</p><p><strong>melissuuuuh</strong>: AKSKGJDHEURJSKALFN</p><p><strong>mrs_oleary</strong>: hi Nico</p><p><strong>lailagg</strong>: WHAT DO YOU MEAN “SORRY ABOUT HIM” NICO WE WANT ANSWERS</p><p><strong>rachael.mae</strong>: guys chill out</p><p><strong>melissuuuuh</strong>: IM LOSING MY MIND</p><p>~~~</p><p>Will Solace @Apollo-holla</p><p>SPRING BREAK! No vid this week, I’m taking the word “break” very seriously</p><p>Nico di Angelo @GhostKing</p><p>No streams this week, taking some time off</p><p>ApolloKing @melissuuuuh</p><p>...I’m not saying will and Nico are on vacation together but...I’ve connected the dots</p><p>Cody Sunders @cobyeet</p><p>
  <em> replying to @melissuuuuh </em>
</p><p>You didnt connect shit</p><p>ApolloKing @melissuuuuh</p><p>
  <em> replying to @cobyeet </em>
</p><p>IVE CONNECTED THEM</p><p>~~~</p><p>Will Solace @Apollo-holla</p><p>
  <em> posted a picture </em>
</p><p>Bae sent me tea for finals week &lt;3</p><p>ApolloKing @melissuuuuh</p><p>
  <em> replying to @Apollo-holla </em>
</p><p>bae?!?!</p><p>Will Solace @Apollo-holla</p><p>Update: bae is mad at me for using the term “bae”. He will henceforth be known as “shnookems pie”</p><p>ApolloKing @melissuuuuh</p><p>
  <em> replying to Apollo-holla </em>
</p><p>HE?!?!?!</p><p>~~~</p><p>Will Solace @Apollo-holla</p><p>WHAT TIME IS IT?!</p><p>Percy Jackson @SeaweedBrain</p><p>
  <em> replying to Apollo-holla </em>
</p><p>SUMMERTIME</p><p>Nico di Angelo @GhostKing</p><p>Will is forcing me to watch all the High School Musical movies now :/</p><p>Leo Valdez @hot-boy-leo</p><p>
  <em> replying to @GhostKing </em>
</p><p>If you haven’t seen them yet, that’s on you. And then you gotta watch HSMTMTS</p><p>Nico di Angelo @GhostKing</p><p>
  <em> replying to @hot-boy-leo </em>
</p><p>...what is that</p><p>Leo Valdez @hot-boy-leo</p><p>
  <em> replying to @GhostKing </em>
</p><p>High School Musical: the Musical: the Series</p><p>Nico di Angelo @GhostKing</p><p>
  <em> replying to @hot-boy-leo </em>
</p><p>WHAT.</p><p>~~~</p><p>Nico di Angelo @GhostKing</p><p>
  <em> posted a photo </em>
</p><p>Happy 1 year, glowstick &lt;3 @Apollo-holla</p><p>Will Solace @Apollo-holla</p><p>
  <em> retweeted @GhostKing </em>
</p><p>happy 1 year, skeleboy &lt;3</p><p>ApolloKing @melissuuuuh</p><p>WHAT</p><p>Jacqueline Archer @jay-quelin</p><p>WHAT DO YOU MEAN ONE YEAR</p><p>APOLLOKING IS CANON @melissuuuuh</p><p>THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY ENTIRE LIFE AGSHKKAJSFJA IVE BEEN SCREAMING</p><p>God’s Mistake @yeetyeetskrt</p><p>...have they...been dating???since??? vidcon???</p><p>APOLLOKING IS CANON @melissuuuuh</p><p>
  <em> replying to @yeetyeetskrt </em>
</p><p>oh my god. You’re right. YOURE RIGHT</p><p>
  <b>Trending:</b>
</p><p>7: #apolloking - <em> Content creators Apollo-holla and GhostKing confirm their relationship </em></p><p>~~~</p><p>“I don’t know why people care so much,” Nico remarked.</p><p>Will shrugged. “People care about a lot of things.”</p><p>Nico twisted uncomfortably. “Was this the right move? I mean, what if we break up and get hate mail or something?”</p><p>Will sat on the couch next to Nico and wrapped his arms around his waist. “Maybe. But I also don’t plan on breaking up with you. So unless you have something to tell me….”</p><p>Nico elbowed him in the side. “Jerk.”</p><p>Will laughed and Nico couldn’t help but smile. He sunk into the embrace and kept scrolling.</p><p>“A lot of people are mad because you’re taken,” Will remarked.</p><p>Nico snorted. “Well, they can get over it. Same for the ones who are sad that you’re off the market.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Will said softly. “Yeah, I am.” He pressed a kiss to Nico’s temple.</p><p>The sunset streamed through the windows in a warm glow and Nico closed his eyes, wrapped in contentment. “Love you.”</p><p>“Love you, too.”</p><p>Everything was perfect.</p><p><br/>
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